Hilary's Home Daycare & Preschool - Hilary's Home Daycare & Preschool

Hilary's Home Daycare & Preschool - Hilary's Home Daycare & Preschool

Sensory path

11/12/2014

There was a fun sensory walk of tape balance lines, sticky contact paper, and bubble wrap waiting to greet the kids as they came in the door this morning! They enjoyed the sensations that the bubble wrap and sticky paper had to offer and had fun following the tape lines on foot, and later, with cars too. And of course, any time we are reminded of tape, we have to use up at least one roll of it all over the floor. :)

Learning how to effectively rip a piece of tape off a roll is a very hard thing for little hands to do. Another of our kiddos has today joined the prestigious ranks of our “tape-rippers” and she is very proud! Learning to rip tape is such a badge of honor around here not only because it is such a useful skill (we LOVE making tape shapes and designs on the floor!), but also because of how hard it is to do! Have you ever noticed how the pride you feel in an accomplishment is directly related to how hard you had to work to achieve it?

The more times kids get to experience trying, practicing, and finally succeeding at those “hard things,” the more confidence they will have that they will be able to accomplish more “hard things” in the future. Learning to tie shoes can be a hard thing. Learning to solve math problems can be a hard thing. Learning to read can be a hard thing. Each time kids are allowed to completely own the process of mastering a new skill, they gain confidence that they will be able to do it again and again. And it’s okay for kids to struggle a little in the process. That just makes the end result so much sweeter!

Leaf pile!

10/9/2014

The crunch of a good leaf pile is definitely my favorite thing about fall! Think back to the best memories you have of your own childhood. I'll bet there's one similar to this on that list. What are some of your other favorite memories of play as a child? Asking yourself that question is a fantastic place to start when thinking of things to do with kids!

(Mini) Pumpkin Harvest

10/2/2014

It was pumpkin harvest day today! We have had so much fun watching our mini pumpkin vines grow up over our wire tunnel and produce pumpkins, and we had just as much fun picking and collecting them today.

Mud Pie Kitchen

9/2/2014

I am pretty sad that summer is coming to an end, but we are not going to let that stop us from enjoying every last bit of nice weather in our new mud pie kitchen! (Though I think it will make a fun snow pie kitchen, too!) I still hope to add a real kitchen sink on the left side, but it's definitely usable! The kids were so excited to see it ready for play this morning, and they have already spent hours scooping, digging, squeezing (great pre-writing work!), counting, measuring (math concepts), role-playing, planning, communicating, problem solving (VERY important social skills), just rolling in the new dirt patch, and having SO MUCH FUN!

We were also in the mood for some painting today, so some jumped right into that as well!

Planting the Garden - 2014

6/10/2014

A little later than we'd hoped, and our rows may not be perfectly straight, but we got our daycare vegetable garden planted today! We had a fantastic time getting it planted and are excited to see our seeds start to grow!

Planting a vegetable garden - Hilary's Home Daycare

This year we put it spinach, lettuce, green beans, two rows of (our favorite!) snap peas, carrots, and sunflowers. We also have mini pumpkins planted in our wire tunnel and are looking forward to having a beautiful green living tunnel to play in this summer!

Pumpkin Vine Tunnel - Hilary's Home Daycare

I love gardening with the kids so much because it is such a fun lesson that covers so many areas of learning. Each year that they participate in the growing process, they are learning science, math concepts (counting out the seeds and rows, and spacing), health and nutrition (as we harvest what we've planted), and so much more!

Planting a Vegetable Garden - Hilary's Home Daycare

Spider Webs!

5/15/2014

Building Yarn Spiderwebs - Great fine motor AND large motor activity for kids! - Hilary's Home Daycare

SO much great learning going on in just this photo! :) A couple of the kids asked this morning if they could make a giant spider web with yarn (something we have done here before). Well, they got to work and as I watched and listened, I was once again amazed at all the learning that was going on in their PLAY!
Large motor control and agility practice as they figured out how to maneuver over, under, and through the web... fine motor work too, as they carefully wrapped up little toy bugs in the web for the spider to eat. And the greatest little science lesson as they discussed why they were wrapping up those bugs: Child 1: "We are wrapping them up so the spider can eat them. Actually, they just drink their blood." Child 2: "Gross!" Child 1: "Yeah, but it's healthy for them. And if we drink blood it just goes into our tummy." Me: "Do people drink blood?" Child 2: "No! But we have blood inside us!"
This is the way learning is supposed to be...THEY chose the subject, and THEY chose how to go about their learning, which makes what they learn relevant and meaningful!

Color Sorting with Easter Eggs

4/10/2014

This week I brought in a big box of plastic Easter eggs,

...and the kids enjoyed exploring them and sorting them by colors.

What a mess!

3/13/2014

What a mess! Our play yard is a wet, muddy mess right now, but we are so thankful to be able to get out and get some fresh air! And, mud CAN be lots of fun, right!? Thanks, parents, for sending lots of extra clothes so we can run and dig and play without stopping to worry about wet clothes! :)

Celebrating Dr. Seuss - The Foot Book

3/6/2014

Today we have read The Foot Book, I Wish that I Had Duck Feet, and Fox in Socks and carried the theme into our play with our Silly Sock Day, and then painting with our feet! It really was a lot of fun, a great sensory experience, and great large motor workout too, since walking on a paper that gets more and more saturated with paint can get very slippery!

Some of the littlest ones got in on the fun, too! Even though we waited to do the majority of our feet painting until they were napping, they each got to have a turn exploring the paint on their own. Such a new, fun texture, and repeating the cause and effect relationship of dipping and then smearing was definitely a highlight!

Hilary's Home Daycare Toddler Painting

Dr. Seuss's birthday!

3/3/2014

This week marks the annual celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Week! It is a time I always look forward to, since it is filled with so many fun activities and so much fun reading! So far, we have enjoyed a Cat In The Hat beanbag toss game, lots of red and white patterning, some Red Fish Blue Fish decorating, and a fun lunch of "Lorax pasta" complete with a blue Humming Fish "river" alfredo sauce, broccoli and asparagus "trees," and mini Lorax (pineapple) "mustaches." A fun start to a great week!